Sellers are cutting their prices, inventory’s sitting on the market a bit longer, and condo buyers especially have more selection to choose from.
Home and condo sales have also been declining for months, and price growth is slower than before.
These are some of the signs that point to a buyer’s market in parts of South Florida. I’m not talking about the turnkey, ultra-high-end part of the market, though those properties aren’t flying off the shelves either.
Everywhere I look, I see price cuts — $70,000 here, $10,000 there. Or, for the more expensive homes, listings are reduced by $5 million or $6 million. (Rarely do I see a price increase, though it happens.)
That doesn’t mean all sellers are losing money, based on their purchase prices. But they’re adjusting their expectations as the days on market tick up for their properties. “Make an offer, you never know what could happen,” a listing agent urged me when I told them a house was out of my price range. That property just got a $10,000 price cut.
Homebuyers are also increasingly backing out of purchases in some markets in part because they have more options. A Redfin report released this summer found that home buys are most likely to fall through in Texas and Florida. More than 21 percent of pending home purchases were canceled in July in Fort Lauderdale, among the major U.S. cities with the biggest increase of sales that collapsed. In Miami, about 17 percent of signed home contracts were canceled in July, the same as last July, according to the report.
Buyers have the most choices when it comes to condos, because sellers want to offload their units. Many condo associations are instituting special assessments to pay for repairs and maintenance to increase dues to fill a building’s financial reserves. High monthly fees, or the fear that owners will have to shell out tens of thousands of dollars on top of normal maintenance costs, are keeping buyers away from some buildings.
The question is, how much more will pricing fall? When and where is rock bottom?
What we’re thinking about: What are the weakest links in West Palm Beach’s new development condo pipeline? Send me a note at kk@therealdeal.com.
CLOSING TIME
Residential: Dr. Nicole Martin, a former “Real Housewives of Miami” star, and her fiancé, attorney Anthony Lopez, purchased a seven-bedroom home at 33 Arvida Parkway for $34 million, 28 percent off its asking price of $47 million. Real estate investor Rafael Perez sold the property.
Commercial: Chicago-based Waterton Residential sold a 427-unit apartment complex known as District West Gables at 2001 and 2101 Ludlam Road/Southwest 67th Avenue in West Miami for $111 million. Federal Capital Partners bought the property.
— Research by Mary Diduch
NEW TO THE MARKET
Pedro Adrian, founder of Adrian Homes, and his wife, Adria Adrian, listed their waterfront Palm Island mansion in Miami Beach for $59 million. The 11,639-square-foot, five-bedroom, five-bathroom house at 145 Palm Avenue is being marketed as a teardown by listing agent Chad Carroll and Jesus Adrian of Compass’ Chad Carroll Group. The 1.4-acre property includes the adjacent lot at 149 Palm Avenue, home to a tennis court. The Adrians paid $240,000 for the main property in 1984, and $200,000 for the lot next door in 1986.
A thing we’ve learned
Enrollment at public schools across Florida is falling. Miami-Dade County saw a drop of 13,000 students. In Broward, enrollment fell by about 11,000 students. And in Orange County, budget planners predicted a 7,000-student decline. Miami-Dade County Public Schools superintendent Jose Dotres said the drops can be attributed to a decrease in immigrant students, lower birth rate and rising costs of living.
Elsewhere in Florida
- Miami commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela wants the city to “institute a civil action” against fellow commissioner Joe Carollo to recover millions in taxpayer-funded legal fees spent defending him in a federal case that led to a $63.5 million judgment against Carollo. The proposal will be considered at the Sept. 11 commission meeting, the Miami Herald reports.
- An appeals court temporarily allowed Florida to keep operating Alligator Alcatraz despite a federal judge’s earlier order to shut the immigration detention center down over environmental concerns, according to the Palm Beach Post.
- Donna Adelson, matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family, was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation for orchestrating the 2014 killing of her former son-in-law, Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel, amid a bitter custody dispute, the Sun Sentinel reports. Adelson’s son was previously convicted. Markel’s ex, Wendi Adelson, has denied involvement and has not been charged.
- An Opa-locka man was arrested on theft and fraud charges after allegedly stealing over $22,000 from a North End woman via months of wire transfers. Police said he admitted plotting with an accomplice known as “Fat Boy” to divide the money, according to the Palm Beach Daily News.
- Palm Beach County approved Lennar’s plan to build 53 townhomes near Greenacres. The homebuilder will, in exchange, provide workforce housing units off-site and contribute more than $570,000 toward future projects. While Lennar argued the area has become denser and the project fits the neighborhood, some residents opposed the plan, accusing the builder of exploiting the county’s workforce housing program, according to the Palm Beach Post.